THE GREAT INDOORS: Wallpaper is the new black!

Not only are typical wallpaper creators coming up with new, modern styles, but a bevy of graphic and textile designers are moving their style to the wall.

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THE GREAT INDOORS: Wallpaper is the new black!

POSTED: Monday, March 12, 2012, 3:00 PM

Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.

Ten years ago, if you heard the word “wallpaper” in a designer’s plan for a room, it was time to bow out. Wallpaper was a time-consuming (and swear-inducing) endeavor that was used to cheaply add poor floral décor to a space. Today, that’s all changed. At some point, wallpaper manufacturers decided to catch up with the times and retire magnolia-and-fern border papers. Now, not only are typical wallpaper creators coming up with new, modern styles, but a bevy of graphic and textile designers are moving their style to the wall. In fact, wallpaper has once again become the hot new way of adding modern, graphic pizzazz to any space.

Luckily, we live in a city that’s at the forefront of design. Queen Village’s Colonial Wallcoverings (707 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-687-6457) has been in business since 1976 — a sign that they not only know wallpaper, but know how to change with the times. Colonial now carries a large collection of wallpapers from the world’s top designers. “My mission,” says owner Paul Sterling, “is… to provide the best designs in wallpaper from skilled designers who recently graduated from design school and those who have been in the business for a long time.” Always looking for new designers, including local ones, Sterling stays on top of the industry, and in some cases, creates it.

For spring, Sterling is looking forward to more colorful designs and more organic themes. “It’s like bringing the Philadelphia Flower Show into your home without the watering part,” he says. Also on the spring forecast are animal prints and bold, colorful designs that match this season’s latest graphics.

We’ve gathered a few of his favorites to showcase what’s on the forefront of wallpaper design.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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